When Pizza Hut bought out Straw Hat Pizza nearly 10 years ago,
Straw Hat franchisees faced a dilemma: Either convert or go
independent. For a number of franchisees, neither option was
appealing, so they came up with another alternative. They opted out
of the Pizza Hut franchise and established a cooperative to retain
ownership of the Straw Hat name, operating systems, recipes and
logo.

Today, Dublin, California-based Straw Hat Cooperative Corp. is
going strong, with 50 members and 65 locations throughout
California, Nevada and Washington. An average of six new stores are
added each year. All decisions guiding the company are made by an
elected board of directors.

"It's a shared strength," says Joshua Richman,
president and CEO of the cooperative. "The idea is that these
pizza restaurants will be stronger as part of a group than on their
own."

The benefits are numerous. The backing of 60-plus stores helps
when negotiating deals with suppliers. Co-op members also save
money because Straw Hat manufactures its own cheese, dough, meat
toppings, sauce, boxes and cups. The royalties are low, and all
marketing materials are provided.

Says Richman, "We've found it is a real formula for
success in our industry, which is extremely saturated and
competitive."

Quintuple Or Nothing

By Holly Celeste Fisk

Dual branding is one of the hottest trends in franchising. Now
Ed Blair, founder of Dallas-based Main Street Concepts LLC, is
turning up the heat. Blair launched the first quintuple-branding
location, dubbed Main Street, in July. The Farmers Branch, Texas,
location combines a Shell Oil gas station with a five-restaurant
food court.

"We found out that fast food generates three times as much
revenue per square foot as a convenience store," says Blair,
who spent almost two years persuading franchisors to give his
concept a shot. Most were reluctant to allow Blair to build units
where employees would work side by side with employees of competing
franchises, a problem Blair addressed with a unique point-of-sale
system that ensures each franchisor receives its due royalties.

"I look at it like coaching," says Blair. "If
everybody works as a team, we're likely to win the
game."

The Farmers Branch Main Street includes Pizza Inn, Hardee's,
Popeyes, La Creme and Taco John's outlets, but future Main
Streets will be customized to best match the customer demographics
in their areas.

Blair and Monty Whitehurst, Main Street's vice president,
are working on the rights to three more franchises, including
Baskin-Robbins, and permission from Shell Oil to build 17 more
units in Texas.

With fuel for the fire, quintuple-branding just might be the
hottest thing since the drive-thru window.

Piece Of The Pie

By Lourdes Aguila

Like most entrepreneurs, Stephen Hanulik, 36, had to overcome
obstacles to business ownership. Unlike most, the Springdale,
Pennsylvania, man had to triumph over one extra obstacle--getting
people to look past his wheelchair and see him, not his
disability.

Hanulik, who has muscular dystrophy and is a quadriplegic, was
working at a hospital when a colleague told him about Business
Enterprise Venture. The federally funded program, run by the
Pittsburgh Blind Association, helps people with disabilities become
entrepreneurs by providing guidance with feasibility studies,
business plans and financing.

Hanulik didn't waste any time. "I've always dreamed
of owning my own business," he says. Through the program he
met advisory board member Jim Fox, founder of Fox's Pizza Den.
Then fate stepped in: A Fox's Pizza Den franchise right down
the block from Hanulik's home was up for sale.

"I knew that this deal was going to work," recalls
Fox. "[Hanulik] is a very inspiring person." With
business start-up assistance from Business Enterprise Venture, plus
a home equity loan, Hanulik bought the franchise in May 1995.

Today, with 1996 sales projected at $100,000 and eight part-time
employees, Hanulik is living his dream. And his enthusiasm has been
contagious: Fox has added a whole subdivision to Fox's Pizza
Den to attract franchisees with disabilities.

Tis The Season

By H.C.F.

Franchisee philanthropists know it's better to give than to
receive. Some of the projects franchises are involved in:

Super 8 Motels' Rooms at the Inn program offers free rooms
on Christmas Eve to holiday travelers visiting friends in nearby
nursing homes, veterans' homes, hospitals and treatment
centers. The program was started by franchisee Linda Aamold
Tharaldson in Fargo, North Dakota, in 1987; Super 8 adopted the
program in 1990. More than 650 Super 8 motels donated about 1,500
rooms last year.

Franchisee P.K. Sindwani displays a Christmas tree decorated
with cutout angels in his Trappe, Pennsylvania, Little Professor
Book Center as a part of the Adopt an Angel program he began in
1994. Each angel bears the name of a needy neighbor and either a
book they would like or a list of their interests. Customers who
purchase the books receive a 25 percent discount, and a star with
their name replaces the angel on the tree. Last Christmas, all 150
angels were purchased.

Auto appearance franchise Maaco Enterprises donates any
leftover toy cars, which are usually sold to franchisees to use as
premiums, to the U.S. Marine Corps' Toys for Tots program.
Started at Maaco's King of Prussia, Pennsylvania, headquarters
in 1993, the campaign has picked up speed, with 12 more franchises
donating their stocks of the popular toy cars.

Tasteful Idea

By C.M.

Customers got all the pizza they could eat, charities got
donations, and pizzerias got a slew of new customers. The setting
for this win-win-win situation? The first Buffalo Grove Chamber of
Commerce Pizza Challenge in Buffalo Grove, Illinois.

Michael Jonas, a sales representative for direct-mail
advertising franchise Coupon-Cash Saver in Deerfield, Illinois,
came up with the idea as a way to help charities and businesses at
the same time. The all-you-can-eat tasting, held in February, gave
local pizza restaurants the chance to showcase their pizzas.
Attendees either paid a $3 entry fee or donated six cans of
food--then chowed down. Both cash and food were later distributed
to five local food pantries; and at the end of the day, consumers
placed their votes for the town's best pizzas.

"The purpose was to help the charities out, but it was
obviously a very good value for consumers who wanted to try all the
pizzas in town," says Jonas, who is also a chamber member.
"Win or lose, the pizzerias had a great time and earned a lot
of new customers." Approximately $1,000 and 1,500 pounds of
food were collected at the event, which drew about 800 more people
than Jonas expected.

The second annual Pizza Challenge is again set for February.
"I want to help raise money during a [slow] time for the food
pantries," explains Jonas. "They get inundated with food
during the holidays, but when spring comes, there's no real
push to donate."